REPORTS 

ON  A 

Proposed  Issue  of  Special  Revenue  Bonds  to 
Supplement  Budgetary  Appropriation  of  the 
President  of  the  Borough  of  The  Bronx 
for  Highway  Maintenance 

ADDRESSED  TO 

Hon.  GEORGE  B.  McCLELLAN,  Mayor 

Chairman  of  the  Board  of  Estimate  and  Apportionment 


JUNE  24,  1909,  AND  JULY  I,  1909 


Commissioners  of  Accounts 

OF 

THE  CITY  OF  NEW  YORK 


REPORTS 


ON  A 


Proposed  Issue  of  Special  Revenue  Bonds  to 
Supplement  Budgetary  Appropriation  of  the 
President  of  the  Borough  of  The  Bronx 
for  Highway  Maintenance 


ADDRESSED  TO 


Hon.  GEORGE  B.  McCLELLAN,  Mayor 

Chairman  of  the  Board  of  Estimate  and  Apportionment 


JUNE  24,  1909,  AND  JULY  1,  1909 


Commissioners  of  Accounts 

OF 


THE  CITY  OF  NEW  YORK 


35M 


flARTIN  B.  BROWN 
A  PRESS  4 


is  Vn.H 


{JO 


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cgt 

Cl 


O' 


Office  of  the  Commissioners  of  Accounts/) 
Stewart  Building,  280  Broadway,  l 
New  York,  June  24,  1909. 

Subject — Proposed  issue  of  Special  Revenue  Bonds,  to  supplement  bud¬ 
getary  appropriation  of  the  President  of  the  Borough  of  The  Bronx 
for  highway  maintenance. 

Hon.  George  B.  McClellan,  Mayor: 

Sir — At  your  direction  we  have  caused  a  brief  examination  to  be  made 
of  the  records  of  the  Bureau  of  Highways  of  the  Borough  of  The  Bronx, 
and  of  the  earth  and  macadam  highways  in  that  borough,  with  a  view  to 
testing  the  necessity  for  the  issue  of  revenue  bonds  in  the  amount  of 
$220,000,  requested  by  Borough  President  Haffen  in  a  communication  ad¬ 
dressed  to  the  Board  of  Aldermen  under  date  of  May  24,  1909.  While  it 
was  not  possible  in  the  time  at  our  disposal  to  make  this  examination  as 
exhaustive  as  we  would  wish,  nevertheless  we  are  of  the  opinion  that  such 
results  as  we  have  obtained  are  conclusive. 

In  his  letter  of  May  24,  1909,  to  the  Board  of  Aldermen  President 
Haffen  states  that  his  budgetary  appropriation  for  maintenance  of  highways 
for  the  year  1909  was  $224,924  less  than  the  amount  appropriated  for  the 
me  purpose  in  1908.  This  is  substantially  true,  and  it  is  pointed  out  that 
the  necessity  for  such  a  reduction  was  very  fully  set  forth  in  our  final  report 
to  your  Honor  upon  the  accounts  and  methods  of  the  office  of  the  President 
of  the  Borough  of  The  Bronx,  filed  on  June  16,  1908.  Therein  it  was  re¬ 
ported  that  an  exhaustive,  painstaking  and  accurate  test  of  the  efficiency  of 
the  highway  labor  gangs  in  the  Borough  of  The  Bronx  demonstrated  that 
a  waste,  due  to  inexcusable  idleness,  had  taken  place  in  the  payrolls  of  these 
gangs,  amounting  to  50  per  cent,  of  the  total  amount  expended  by  the  Bureau 
of  Highways.  In  other  words,  had  a  system  of  supervision  and  control  over 
the  labor  forces  of  this  borough  been  established  and  enforced  by  the 
borough  officials,  it  would  have  been  possible  to  achieve  the  same  results 
upon  the  highways  of  the  borough  with  half  the  number  of  laborers  then 
employed,  and  at  half  the  cost  to  the  City  of  New  York.  This  being  the 
case,  and  bearing  in  mind  that  the  appropriation  for  highway  maintenance 


o 

O 


5453 


4 


allowed  the  President  of  the  borough  in  1908  was  $823,500,  it  is  apparent 
that  a  cut  not  only  of  $224,924,  but  even  of  half  the  1908  appropriation, 
namely  $411,750,  might  well  have  been  made  in  voting  the  1909  appropriation 
to  this  borough,  had  the  President  been  prepared  to  exact  of  his  employees 
a  full  return  in  services  for  the  wages  paid  them. 

We  also  remind  your  Honor  that  at  the  time  of  the  making  of  the  1909 
budget  the  matter  of  highway  maintenance  was  referred  to  a  select  com¬ 
mittee  consisting  of  the  engineers  of  the  Board  of  Estimate  and  Apportion¬ 
ment  and  the  chief  engineers  of  each  of  the  five  boroughs.  On  the  basis 
of  the  report  of  this  select  committee  a  sum  was  appropriated  to  the 
Borough  of  The  Bronx  for  this  purpose  which  amounted  to  a  cut  under  the 
1908  appropriation  of  the  sum  of  $224,924,  above  stated.  It  is  to  be  re¬ 
membered  that  the  report  of  the  engineers  was  signed  by  the  engineer  of 
the  Borough  of  The  Bronx  as  well  as  by  the  other  members  of  the  com¬ 
mittee.  It  is  therefore  clear  that  two  independent  and  unrelated  bodies  of 
the  city  government,  considering  the  question  of  The  Bronx  highway  main¬ 
tenance  independently  and  from  different  points  of  view,  both  arrived  at 
the  conclusion  that  the  amount  of  money  theretofore  expended  by  that 
borough  upon  highway  maintenance  was  unnecessarily  large,  and  the  more 
liberal  estimate  of  the  two — that  of  the  engineers — resulted  in  the  cut  which 
was  actually  made  by  the  Board  of  Estimate. 

It  would  therefore  appear  that  unless  some  new  and  extraordinary 
condition  had  arisen  in  the  Borough  of  The  Bronx  since  the  investigation 
made  by  the  Commissioners  of  Accounts  and  the  report  rendered  by  the 
select  committee  of  engineers,  an  issue  of  bonds,  placing  at  the  disposal  of 
the  Borough  President  a  sum  of  money  equal  to  that  which  was  saved  to  the 
taxpayers  by  the  cut  in  the  1909  budget,  would  be  an  act  of  nothing  less 
than  profligate  waste.  It  was  our  endeavor  therefore  to  ascertain  whether 
such  extraordinary  condition  had  arisen,  and,  further,  to  learn  the  actual 
effect  upon  the  highways  of  The  Bronx  of  this  cut  under  the  budgetary 
appropriation  of  1908,  by  test  of  the  present  actual  condition  of  those  high¬ 
ways. 

The  specific  reasons  offered  by  the  Borough  President  for  the  proposed 
issue  of  bonds,  taken  from  his  letter  of  May  24,  are  as  follows : 

“  Further,  these  residents  along  the  earth  and  macadam  roads  of 

“  the  borough  have  been  for  years  accustomed  each  season  to  have  them 


5 


“  repaired  and  rounded  up  as  often  as  it  became  necessary  to  do  so,  as 
“  well  as  sprinkled  during  the  summer,  but  who  are  now  daily  com- 
“  plaining  of  the  apparent  neglect  of  the  city  to  properly  serve  them, 
“  and  they  are  clamoring  for  relief.” 

\1#  v  f  *  ^  vix  v*. 

/|*  'I'  't*  '(*  'I*  *1*  'f' 

“  During  the  last  two  months  the  highways  of  The  Bronx  did  not 
“  receive  the  full  attention  heretofore  given  and  absolutely  necessary  for 
“  their  proper  maintenance,  and  the  streets  in  certain  sections  of  our 
“  borough  were  of  necessity  neglected,  due  to  lack  of  funds,  and  con- 
u  sequently  citizens  were  justified  in  the  complaints  they  made.” 

We  addressed  a  letter,  under  date  of  June  15,  1909,  to  the  President  of 
the  Borough  of  The  Bronx,  in  which  we  requested  him  to  furnish  us  with 
the  following  information: 

(a)  The  detailed  items  forming  the  basis  for  the  estimate  that  the 
sum  of  $152,500  will  be  needed  for  supplies,  etc.,  in  the  current  year,  as 
stated  in  your  letter  to  the  Board  of  Aldermen  under  date  of  January  25, 
1909. 

( b )  A  list  of  the  streets  in  the  Borough  of  The  Bronx  whose  main¬ 
tenance  has  been  neglected  owing  to  lack  of  funds  and  whose  condition  is 
such  as  to  justify  the  complaints  of  citizens,  as  referred  to  in  your  letter 
to  the  Board  of  Aldermen  under  date  of  May  24,  1909. 

(c)  A  list  of  all  complaints  made  by  property  owners  regarding  the 
condition  of  streets  which  were  remedied  by  the  maintenance  force  of  the 
Bureau  of  Highways  in  the  current  year. 

( d )  A  list  of  all  complaints  made  by  property  owners  regarding  the 
condition  of  streets  which  were  not  remedied,  or  which  were  unduly  neg¬ 
lected  by  the  maintenance  force  for  the  Bureau  of  Highways  in  the  current 
year. 

( e )  Those  streets  which,  in  your  opinion,  are  not  in  a  condition  of  re¬ 
pair  equal  to  that  of  former  years. 

This  he  did  by  submitting  certain  lists  under  each  of  the  requests  noted 
above.  Thereupon  we  directed  our  engineering  staff  to  make  as  full  an  ex¬ 
amination  as  the  time  at  our  disposal  would  allow,  of  the  information  fur¬ 
nished  by  the  Borough  President,  testing  by  physical  examination  the  con- 


6 


dition  of  those  highways  claimed  by  him  to  have  been  neglected  owing  to 
lack  of  funds  and  whose  condition  he  claimed  justified  the  complaints  of 
citizens.  Herewith  we  give  the  results  of  that  examination. 

(<*) 

Request  of  the  Commissioners  of  Accounts. 

(a)  The  detailed  items  forming  the  basis  for  the  estimate  that  the 
sum  of  $152,000  will  be  needed  for  supplies,  etc.,  in  the  current  year,  as 
stated  in  your  letter  to  the  Board  of  Aldermen  under  date  of  January  25, 
1909. 

Information  Furnished  by  Borough  President. 


Supplies — 1909. 

Feed .  $5,500 

Ashes . 7,500 

Lumber  .  6,000 

Coal  .  1,200 

Sand  and  filling .  1,500 

Paint  . 1,000 

Repairing  asphalt .  5, 000 

Brick .  2,500 

Hardware  and  tools .  3,000 

Gasoline  and  oil .  400 

Horseshoeing  .  2,500 

Veterinary  services .  600 

Oil  for  macadam .  1,000 

New  carriages  and  harness  and  repairs  to  same .  3, 000 

Automobile  supplies,  repairs  and  garage .  1.200 

Mill  and  shop  work,  castings,  etc .  600 


Broken  stone,  55,000  cubic  yards  at  $2 


$42,500 

110,000 


$152,500 


7 


Of  the  above  items  the  time  at  our  disposal  permitted  us  to  test  only 
the  most  important.  The  principal  item  is  that  of  55,000  cubic  yards  of 
broken  stone  and  screenings  at  $2,  amounting  to  $110,000.  We  find  that  the 
deliveries  of  stone  during  the  year  1907  amounted  to  53,873.8  cubic  yards, 
of  which  48,973  cubic  yards  were  charged  to  appropriation  account  at  $2.15 
per  cubic  yard,  amounting  to  $105,291.95,  and  the  balance,  4,900.8  cubic 
yards,  at  $1.58,  were  delivered  on  old  1906  contract,  corporate  stock  ac¬ 
count,  amounting  to  $7,748.26,  making  total  expenditure  for  trap  rock 
and  screenings  for  1907  $113,040.21.  The  deliveries  for  1908  we  find  to  be 
as  follows:  20,364.6  cubic  yards  at  $1.90  and  11,026.6  cubic  yards  at  $2.15, 
amounting  to  $38,658.54  and  $23,707.19,  respectively,  or  a  total  of  $62,- 
365.73  charged  to  appropriation  account,  representing  a  total  of  31,391.2 
cubic  yards.  In  addition  to  this  amount  there  were  also  delivered  in  1908, 
under  an  old  1906  contract,  corporate  stock  account,  21,317  cubic  yards  at 
$1.58,  amounting  to  $33,680.86,  making  a  total  expenditure  for  the  year  of 
$96,046.59. 

In  the  present  year,  during  the  period  to  June  17,  7,179  cubic  yards  at 
$1.90,  amounting  to  $13,640.10,  have  been  delivered  on  1908  appropriation; 
3,079.4  cubic  yards  at  $1.58,  amounting  to  $4,865.45,  delivered  on  old  1906 
contract  (now  completed),  corporate  stock  account,  making  a  total  delivered 
to  June  1 7,  10,258.4  cubic  yards,  amounting  to  $18,505.55. 

Two  additional  contracts  have  been  awarded  under  1909  appropriation, 
for  15,000  cubic  yards  at  $1.90  and  9,000  cubic  yards  at  $1.85,  respectively, 
under  which  no  deliveries  have  as  yet  been  made.  There  were,  however, 
available  for  use  in  1909,  on  June  17,  delivered  and  undelivered,  a  total  of 
34,258.4  cubic  yards,  amounting  to  $63,655.55. 

The  proposal  is  to  add  to  the  34,258.4  cubic  yards,  of  the  value  of 
$63,655.55,  an  additional  55,000  cubic  yards  at  $2  per  cubic  yard,  amounting 
to  $110,000,  these  latter  funds  to  be  furnished  through  the  proposed  revenue 
bond  issue.  If  this  were  done  it  would  make  a  total  of  89,258.4  cubic  yards 
of  trap  rock  for  use  in  1909,  as  against  53,873.8  used  in  1907,  and  52,708.2 
cubic  yards  used  in  1908,  or  an  excess  for  1909  over  1907  of  34,384.6  cubic 
yards,  an  excess  for  1909  over  1908  of  36,550  cubic  yards.  We  find  no  con¬ 
dition  in  the  highways  which  would  justify  so  great  an  increase  in  the  cubic 
yardage  of  trap  rock  required. 


3 


According  to  the  Borough  President’s  estimate  of  requirements  for 
1909  there  will  be  large  excesses  in  various  items  over  former  years.  We 
consider  that  a  comparison  of  the  requests  with  the  actual  expenditures  in 
former  years  may  be  most  clearly  shown  by  the  accompanying  graphic  chart 
marked  Table  I. 


Table:  X 


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(6) 

Request  of  the  Commissioners  of  Accounts. 

(b)  A  list  of  the  streets  in  the  Borough  of  The  Bronx  whose  main¬ 
tenance  has  been  neglected  owing  to  lack  of  funds  and  whose  condition  is 
such  as  to  justify  the  complaints  of  citizens,  as  referred  to  in  your  letter 
to  the  Board  of  Aldermen  under  date  of  May  24,  1909. 


Information  Furnished  by  Borough  President. 

Under  this  request  a  list  of  106  streets  was  submitted  by  the  Borough 
President,  of  which  it  has  been  possible  to  make  a  physical  examination  of 
but  92.  The  inspection  of  these  streets  covered  a  period  of  three  days,  was 
made  by  automobile,  and  in  the  course  of  the  inspection  a  distance  of  about 
200  miles  of  Bronx  highways  was  covered.  The  engineering  staff  was  in¬ 
structed  to  report  the  condition  of  the  streets  examined  under  five  classifi¬ 
cations,  namely : 

Excellent. 

Good. 

Fair. 

Poor. 

Bad. 

The  conditions  found  were: 


No.  of  Streets.  Percentage. 

Excellent .  7  7.6 

Good .  55  60. 

Fair . ' .  17  18.5 

Poor .  11  12.2 

Bad  .  2  2. 


92  100.3 

The  foregoing  is  further  illustrated  by  a  graphic  chart  hereto  attached 
and  marked  Table  II. 

This  result  very  effectually  disposes  of  the  contention  that  any  unusual 
condition  of  disrepair  exists  at  the  present  time. 


12 


We  quote  from  the  report  of  our  examining  inspector,  Mr.  Stewart, 
upon  the  present  general  condition  of  the  streets  examined : 

“  At  the  present  time  there  are  relatively  very  few  such  streets 
“  and  roads  that  are  not  in  excellent  condition,  or  at  least  in  such  good 
“  condition  that  little  or  no  repair  work  is  necessary,  or  if  done  would 
“  be  effective  in  making  them  better  in  anything  except  appearance. 
“  For  the  few  that  do  require  such  repairs  and  attention  the  large  ma- 
“  jority  are  unimportant  as  traffic  routes  and  in  many  cases  have  few 
“  residences  upon  them.  On  those  streets  where  complaint  might 
“  reasonably  be  made  of  their  condition  the  roadway  is  often  almost 
“  entirely  blocked  in  places  by  encroachment  of  building  material  for 
“  new  structures,  etc.  This  is  a  matter  which  I  believe  is  under  the 
“  control  of  the  Borough  President  in  the  issuance  of  permits  for  the 
“  placing  of  such  material.  Others  of  these  streets  require  little  but 
“  the  removal  of  what  debris  may  have  accumulated  upon  them  together 
“  with  an  occasional  small  repair  which  has  developed  or  as  noted  was 
“  left  over  from  last  fall,  matters  of  a  very  small  amount  of  time  and 
“  labor.” 

(0 

w 


Request  of  the  Commissioners  of  Accounts. 

( c )  A  list  of  all  complaints  made  by  property  owners  regarding  the 
condition  of  streets  which  were  remedied  by  the  maintenance  force  of  the 
Bureau  of  Highways  in  the  current  year. 

( d )  A  list  of  all  complaints  made  by  property  owners  regarding  the 
condition  of  streets  which  were  not  remedied  or  which  were  unduly  neglected 
by  the  maintenance  force  of  the  Bureau  of  Highways  in  the  current  year. 


Information  Furnished  by  Borough  President. 

(c)  A  list  of  86  locations  concerning  which  complaints  were  received. 

(d)  A  list  of  2 5  locations  concerning  which  complaints  were  received. 

Upon  both  of  these  heads  we  quote  from  the  report  of  our  examining 
inspector,  Mr.  Stewart : 

Items  c  and  d. 

“  In  reference  to  these  items  typewritten  lists  of  locations  were 
“  furnished  by  the  office  of  the  Borough  President  of  The  Bronx  and 


13 


“  are  herewith  appended.  Upon  receiving  these  lists  an  examination 
“  was  made  of  the  written  complaints  which  referred  to  these  locations, 
“  together  with  all  papers  attached  thereto,  and  notes  were  taken  which 
“  would  give  an  idea  of  the  kind  of  attention  required  and  the  amount  of 
“  labor  and  material  each  location  would  represent,  also  noting  that 
“  these  complaints  were  made  during  the  current  year.  It  was,  of 
“  course,  impossible  to  make  a  physical  examination  of  the  locations. 

“  These  two  lists  (c)  and  (d)  contain  106  locations  and  are  rep- 
“  resented  by  about  94  written  complaints.  The  items  enumerated  in 
“  these  lists  are  not  of  an  extraordinary  character  which  would  demand 
“  an  extra  amount  of  money ;  they  are  of  the  ordinary  nature  of  com- 
“  plaints  such  as  are  continually  occurring,  and  for  this  reason  it  would 
“  not  be  a  good  basis  for  an  argument  that  more  money  is  needed  than 
“  that  provided  in  the  original  appropriation. 

“  Item  (c). — The  results  of  this  examination  are  as  follows: 

“  Locations — 82. 

“  Class  of  work — 


“  Complaints  missing .  4  —  4.9% 

“Routine  work .  71  =  86.6% 

“Improvements  .  4=  4.9% 

“Emergency  .  2=  2.4% 

“  Nothing  to  be  done .  1=  1.2% 


“  82  =  100.0% 

“  Classed  as  to  importance  as  follows : 


“  Very  small .  13  =  15.9% 

“  Small  .  45=  54.9% 

“  Fairly  large .  14=  17.1% 

“  Large .  4  =  4.9% 

“  Very  large .  1=  1.2% 

“  Complaints  missing .  4—  4.9% 

“  Nothing  to  be  done .  1  =  1.2% 


“  82  =  100.1% 


14 


“  As  will  be  seen,  Item  (c)  has  82  locations,  86.6  per  cent,  of  which 
“  require  ordinary  routine  work,  and  70.8  per  cent,  are  small  or  very 
“  small,  thereby  indicating  ordinary  work  which  can  be  readily  handled 
“  by  the  appropriation  and  keep  within  the  same. 

“  Item  (d). — This  item  consists  as  follows: 

“  Locations — 24. 

“  Class  of  work — 

“  Routine  .  23=  95.9% 

“  Improvements  .  . 

‘‘Emergency . .  1=  4.1% 

“  24  =  100.0% 

4=  16.7% 

4~  16.7% 

6=  25.0% 

10  =  41.6% 

“  24  =  100.0% 

“  As  will  be  seen,  Item  (d)  has  24  locations,  95.9  per  cent,  of  which 
“  require  ordinary  routine  work,  and  33.4  per  cent,  are  small  or  very 
“  small,  and  66.6  per  cent,  is  for  large  and  fairly  large.  No  doubt  when 
“  these  latter  items  are  looked  into  and  inquiries  made  it  will  be  found 
“  that  the  demands  of  the  people  are  more  than  is  fairly  reasonable  and 
“  usually  granted,  and  more  than  would  ordinarily  be  granted,  and 
“  therefore  a  large  part  of  this  66.6  per  cent,  will  be  laid  over  for  other 
“  years  and  then  not  laid  over  for  lack  of  funds  but  more  for  lack  of 
“  real  logical  and  immediate  demand.” 

The  conditions  found  under  Requests  C  and  D  are  further  illustrated 
by  the  accompanying  graphic  charts  entitled,  respectively,  Tables  3  and  4. 

An  examination  of  the  complaints  on  file  in  the  Borough  President’s 
office  indicate  that  the  number  received  in  1909  is  not  materially  greater 
than  those  received  in  1908.  Throughout  the  year  1908  approximately  580 
complaints  were  received  relating  to  the  condition  of  highways.  In  1909, 
to  June  20,  the  period  of  the  year  during  which  the  greatest  cause  for  com¬ 
plaint  exists,  340  have  been  received. 


“  Classed  as  to  importance  as  follows : 

“  V ery  small . * . 

“  Small  . 

“  Fairly  large . . 

“  Large . 


1 6 


(0 

Request  of  the  Commissioners  of  Accounts. 

(e)  Those  streets  which,  in  your  opinion,  are  not  in  a  condition  of  re¬ 
pair  equal  to  that  of  former  years. 

Information  Furnished  by  the  Borough  President. 

(e)  A  list  of  147  streets. 

A  very  careful  examination  made  of  the  streets  submitted  by  the  Bor¬ 
ough  President  in  the  list  under  request  ( b )  above,  convinced  us  of  the  use¬ 
lessness  of  devoting  time  to  an  examination  of  the  streets  in  the  list  sub¬ 
mitted  under  request  (e),  it  being  our  opinion  that  if  those  streets  which 
the  Borough  President  alleged  were  the  subject  of  clamorous  complaints, 
referred  to  in  his  letter  of  May  24,  were  found  to  be  in  as  good  condition 
as  in  previous  years,  an  examination  of  the  streets  concerning  whose  dis¬ 
repair  there  was  only  his  personal  opinion,  would  be  superfluous. 

Bearing  upon  the  entire  subject  of  the  Borough  President’s  request  for 
an  issue  of  these  revenue  bonds  we  caused  a  careful  analysis  to  be  made 
of  the  monthly  disbursements  from  the  maintenance  appropriation  of  high¬ 
ways  in  the  year  1908  and  in  the  present  year  up  to  and  including  the  month 
of  May.  These  disbursements,  by  percentages,  were  as  follows : 

Percentage  of  Appropriation. 


1908.  1909. 

January  .  3.21  1.57 

February .  4.45  2.82 

March . . .  5.48  3.71 

April  . 6.93  6.18 

May  .  8.72  10.20 

June .  8.49  .... 

July .  8.09  - 

August  .  9.91  .... 

September .  8.45  .... 

October  .  10.45  .  ... 

November  .  6.02  .... 

December .  5.26  .... 


i7 


To  further  illustrate  this  condition  we  present  herewith  a  graphic  chart, 
marked  Table  V.,  showing  the  same  facts.  It  will  be  noted  that  the  chart 
shows  in  the  month  of  May,  1908,  a  payroll  expenditure  that  approximates 
$72,000,  while  in  the  month  of  May,  1909,  it  was  approximately  $60,000. 

It  is  a  well-known  fact  that  the  time  of  the  year  when  most  work  is 
required  upon  highways  due  to  natural  causes  is  the  late  spring  and  early 
summer.  It  is  then  that  it  is  necessary  to  put  the  highways  in  condition 
after  the  winter  and  early  spring  have  disrupted  them. 

Assuming  that  the  same  ratio  of  expenditure  is  maintained  throughout 
the  remainder  of  1909,  the  year  can  be  completed  within  the  appropriation 
now  at  the  disposal  of  the  Borough  President  and  a  very  material  balance 
be  left  available  for  the  purchase  of  supplies.  In  fact,  it  would  be  possible 
for  the  Borough  President  to  continue  throughout  all  the  remaining  months 
of  1909  at  an  average  expenditure  per  month  equal  to  the  expenditure  in  the 
month  of  May  and  yet  finish  the  year  within  his  appropriation  and  have  a 
balance  of  $14,000  for  the  purchase  of  supplies.  This,  however,  the  past  has 
demonstrated  is  not  necessary  since  the  expenditures  always  fall  off  largely 
in  the  months  of  November  and  December. 

At  the  time  of  the  submission  of  the  first  request  by  the  Borough  Pres¬ 
ident  for  an  issue  of  $220,000  of  revenue  bonds  he  stated,  in  his  letter  of 
January  25,  1909,  that  he  estimated  that  the  payroll  expenditures  from 
January  1  to  the  middle  of  March  would  be  about  $60,000.  As  a  matter  of 
fact  an  examination  of  his  accounts  shows  that  only  $36,000  was  expended 
for  this  purpose  during  that  period,  demonstrating  that  the  estimate  of  the 
Borough  President  was  $24,000  or  66  per  cent,  in  excess  of  actual  require¬ 
ments.  It  is  nowhere  shown  by  the  Borough  President  that  he  has  caused 
a  revision  of  his  request  to  be  made  on  the  basis  of  the  expenditures  for 
these  three  months,  so  that  it  is  unquestionable  that  the  pending  request  is 
clearly  excessive  even  on  the  basis  of  his  own  statement  as  to  the  condition 
of  the  highways. 

The  graphic  chart  is  suggestive  in  another  respect.  It  illustrates  how 
expenditures  in  The  Bronx  have  increased  extraordinarily  in  the  months 
of  August  and  October,  this  in  face  of  the  fact,  known  to  all  engaged  in 
highway  maintenance,  that  the  late  summer  and  early  fall  are  the  seasons 
of  the  year  when  the  least  expenditure  is  required  to  keep  the  highways  in 
condition.  In  this  connection  it  is  to  be  noted,  and  it  is  not  without  a  bear- 


1 9°9 

•Showing  Percentage  Of 
Annual  Appropriation  Used 
P*r  month  in  the 
Bureau  of* 

H  I  G  HWAY3 

Borough  of  The  Bronx. 
I 9o8  —  )g©9 
-  0*0 - 


19 

ing  upon  the  request  of  the  Borough  President  under  consideration,  that 
these  are  the  months  which  respectively  precede  the  primary  and  general 
election  days.- 

It  is  recommended  that  the  request  for  the  issue  of  special  revenue 
bonds  be  denied. 

Respectfully  submitted, 

(Signed)  John  Purroy  Mitchel, 

Henry  C.  Buncke, 

Commissioners  of  Accounts. 


20 


Office  of  the  Commissioners  of  Accounts/ 
Stewart  Building,  280  Broadway, 

New  York,  July  1,  1909. 

Subject — Proposed  issue  of  Special  Revenue  Bonds  to  supplement  bud¬ 
getary  appropriation  of  the  President  of  the  Borough  of  The  Bronx 
for  highway  maintenance. 

Supplemental  Report. 

Hon.  George  B.  McClellan,  Mayor : 

Sir — On  June  24,  1909,  at  your  request,  we  submitted  a  report  in  re¬ 
gard  to  the  earth  and  macadam  highways  of  the  Borough  of  The  Bronx 
with  a  view  to  testing  the  necessity  for  the  issue  of  revenue  bonds  in  the 
amount  of  $220,000  requested  by  Borough  President  Haffen  in  a  communi¬ 
cation  addressed  to  the  Board  of  Aldermen  under  date  of  May  24,  1909. 

In  the  time  allowed  us  it  was  not  possible  to  make  as  exhaustive  an 
examination  as  we  wished.  With  an  additional  week  at  our  disposal,  how¬ 
ever,  we  have  practically  completed  the  examination  and  we  present  herewith 
a  supplemental  report,  setting  forth  certain  facts  which  it  was  not  possible 
to  include  in  our  earlier  report.  The  two  reports  should  therefore  be  read 
in  conjunction. 

(a)  The  detailed  items  forming  the  basis  for  the  estimate  that  the 
sum  of  $152,000  will  be  needed  for  supplies,  etc.,  in  the  current  year,  as 
stated  in  your  letter  to  the  Board  of  Aldermen  under  date  of  January  25, 
1909. 

In  our  report  of  June  24  we  discussed  the  item  of  $110,000  which  the 
Borough  President  informed  us  was  necessary  for  the  purchase  of  55,000 
cubic  yards  of  broken  stone  at  $2  per  yard.  In  addition  to  this  $110,000 
there  remain  $42,500  for  miscellaneous  supplies  which,  in  his  letter  to  the 
Board  of  Aldermen  of  January  25,  1909,  the  Borough  President  stated  it 
would  be  necessary  to  purchase  during  the  current  year.  Herein  we  confine 
our  discussion  to  the  items  making  this  total  of  $42,500. 


21 


The  Borough  President  submitted  the  following  itemization  of  the 


sum  asked  for : 

Feed .  $5,500 

Ashes . ; .  7,5  00 

Lumber  .  6,000 

Coal  .  1,200 

Sand  and  filling .  1,500 

Paint .  1,000 

Repairing  asphalt .  5, 000 

Brick .  2,500 

Hardware  and  tools .  3, 000 

Gasoline  and  oil .  400 

Horseshoeing .  2,500 

Veterinary  services .  600 

Oil  for  macadam .  1,000 

New  carriages  and  harness  and  repairs  to  same .  3,000 

Automobile  supplies,  repairs  and  garage .  1,200 

Mill  and  shop  work,  castings,  etc .  600 


$42,500 

It  appears  from  an  examination  of  the  accounts  of  the  Department  of 
Highways,  Borough  of  The  Bronx,  that  the  amount  of  $35,646.96  was 
charged  against  the  1908  appropriation  for  the  same  items  of  supplies  listed 
above  for  purchase  under  the  proposed  special  revenue  bond  issue.  In  other 
words,  it  appears  that  $6,853.04  more  than  was  spent  in  1908  is  desired 
by  the  Borough  President  for  highway  supplies  for  1909  (exclusive  of 
broken  stone  and  screenings). 

On  June  22,  1909,  there  had  been  charged  against  the  appropriation 
account  for  the  purchase  of  items,  as  noted  above,  $8,179.96.  There  were, 
moreover,  outstanding  liabilities  for  these  items  chargeable  against  this 
account  in  the  amount  of  $7,533.90,  a  total  expenditure  for  the  six  months 
of  $15,713.86,  making  the  prospective  disbursements  for  the  year  on  this 
basis  in  the  neighborhood  of  $30,000,  as  against  the  $42,500  asked  for  under 
the  proposed  special  revenue  bond  issue. 

Later  in  this  report  (page  27)  we  discuss  the  question  of  supplies  in 
relation  to  payroll  expenditures  and  show  that  with  the  money  now  at  his 


22 


disposal  it  will  be  possible  for  the  Borough  President  to  have  nearly  $100,000 
for  supplies  (inclusive  of  broken  stone  and  screenings)  for  1909 — a  sum 
greatly  in  excess  of  his  present  rate  of  expenditure  during  the  first  six 
months  of  this  year  and  sufficient  to  meet  his  needs. 

(b)  A  list  of  the  streets  in  the  Borough  of  The  Bronx  whose  main¬ 
tenance  has  been  neglected  owing  to  lack  of  funds  and  whose  condition  is 
such  as  to  justify  the  complaints  of  citizens,  as  referred  to  in  your  letter  to 
the  Board  of  Aldermen  under  date  of  May  24,  1909. 

Under  this  request  a  list  of  106  streets  was  given  us  by  the  Borough 
President,  of  which  it  was  possible  at  the  time  of  the  submission  of  our  last 
report  to  make  a  physical  examination  of  but  92.  We  have  to  date  com¬ 
pleted  the  examination  of  all  of  the  106,  the  results  being  as  follows : 


Condition. 


Excellent . 

Good . 

Fair . 

Poor . 

Bad  . 

Not  examined  or  not  found.  . . 
Hardly  could  be  called  a  street 


N  umber. 

Percentage. 

8J4 

8.0% 

59  H 

56.0% 

1 7 

l6.0% 

1034 

9.6% 

3 

2.8% 

2 

1.9% 

6 

5-7% 

106 


100.0% 


These  results  which,  it  should  be  understood,  were  obtained  by  very 
painstaking  physical  examination  of  the  streets  in  question^,  clearly  show  that 
64  per  cent,  are  in  good  or  excellent  condition  and  that  only  20  per  cent, 
are  below  the  standard  of  fair  condition. 

These  conditions  are  further  illustrated  by  a  graphic  chart  hereto  at¬ 
tached  and  marked  Table  VI.  This  chart  supersedes  Table  II.  on  pages  10 
and  11  of  our  report  of  June  24. 

( c )  A  list  of  all  complaints  made  by  property  owners  regarding  the 
condition  of  streets  which  were  remedied  by  the  maintenance  force  of  the 
Bureau  of  Highways  in  the  current  year. 


24 


As  stated  in  our  report  of  June  24,  we  made  an  examination  of  the 
written  complaints  referring  to  these  locations.  The  results  of  the  com¬ 
pleted  examination  may  be  stated  generally  as  follows : 

The  82  locations  submitted  by  the  Borough  President  in  response  to  our 
request  for  information  under  this  heading  extend  from  the  Harlem  River 
to  the  East  River  and  the  City  line.  These  complaints  have  been  made  by 
citizens,  civic  associations,  policemen,  firemen  and  employees  of  the  office 
of  the  President  of  the  Borough  of  The  Bronx.  They  were  made  in  re¬ 
gard  to  snow  and  ice,  holes,  depressions  in  highways,  readjustments  of  curb¬ 
ing,  cleaning  out  gutters,  repairing  board  and  cinder  sidewalks,  cleaning  up 
garbage,  removing  stones  and  boulders  from  the  highways,  street  repairs 
in  railroad  area,  cleaning  of  crosswalks,  etc. 

The  results  of  the  examination  of  complaints  are  given  in  the  following 
table,  which  shows,  first,  the  nature  of  the  complaint,  and,  second  the  per¬ 
centage  which  the  complaints  of  the  same  kind  bear  to  the  whole  number : 


Nature  of  Complaint.  Percentage. 

Snow  and  ice .  2.44 

Cleaning  up  garbage  papers,  stones,  dirt,  etc .  25.00 

Cinders  wanted  on  sidewalks .  18.29 

Holes  in  roadway .  6.10 

Petition  for  pavement .  1.22 

Material  on  sidewalks .  1.22 

Macadamizing  .  1 1  •  59 

Depressions  .  3-66 

Washouts .  1.22 

Readjusting  curbing  .  1.22 

Dust .  2.44 

Oiling  .  1.22 

Crosswalks .  3-66 

Board  walk .  5-49 

Screenings  .  .61 

Paving .  1  22 

Repairing  of  sidewalks .  3-66 

Attention  to  sidewalks .  1.22 

Unknown  .  8.54 

Total .  99-96 


25 


It  will  be  seen  that  these  complaints  are  of  routine  character  and  are 
not  of  such  an  extraordinary  nature  as  would  demand  more  than  the  usual 
expense  for  maintenance. 

( d )  A  list  of  all  complaints  made  by  property  owners  regarding  the 
condition  of  streets  which  were  not  remedied  or  which  were  unduly  neg¬ 
lected  by  the  maintenance  force  of  the  Bureau  of  Highways  in  the  current 
year. 

Since  the  submission  of  our  report  of  June  24  we  have  made  a  physical 
examination  of  14  of  the  24  locations  given  us  by  the  President  of  the 
Borough  of  The  Bronx.  This  examination  discloses  the  same  conditions  as 
were  found  by  the  analysis  of  the  complaints  mentioned  above  under  section 
(c)  of  this  report.  That  is,  the  complaints  relate  for  the  most  part  to  minor 
repairs  of  ordinary  routine  nature,  the  necessity  for  which  was  taken  into 
consideration  when  the  budget  was  made  up.  For  instance,  one  complaint 
dealt  with  a  condition  which  could  be  remedied  by  a  dozen  boards  and 
sleepers.  Another  complaint  was  in  reference  to  the  presence  of  snow  and 
ice  on  steps.  In  two  or  three  locations  given  in  this  list  no  cause  for  com¬ 
plaint  could  be  found ;  indeed,  in  one  of  the  complaints  the  borough  in¬ 
spector  himself  reported  that  he  saw  no  reason  therefor.  On  two  streets 
mentioned  in  this  list  highway  gangs  were  found  at  work  macadamizing, 
which  hardly  supports  the  Borough  President’s  assertion  that  these  streets 
are  being  unduly  neglected  by  the  maintenance  force.  Another  complaint 
requests  a  cinder  path  to  be  laid  across  lots,  and  upon  investigation  of  a 
location  given  in  this  list  conditions  were  found  which  have  existed  since 
the  early  part  of  the  year  1908. 


26 

An  analysis  of  the  complaints  submitted  by  the  Borough  President 
under  this  heading  discloses  the  following  general  conditions: 


Nature  of  Complaint.  Percentage. 

Snow  and  ice .  4. 17 

Paving .  4-17 

Holes  in  roadway .  4. 17 

Cleaning .  4.17 

Remacadamizing . 56.23 

Depressions  .  6.25 

Washout .  4-17 

Board  walk  .  4.17 

Attention  needed  to  sidewalks .  4.17 

Sewer  trench  filled . .  4. 17 

Petition  for  cinders . .  4 .17 


Total .  100.01 


In  connection  with  this  whole  question  of  complaints,  upon  which  the 
President  of  the  Borough  of  The  Bronx  laid  such  stress  in  his  letter  to  the 
Board  of  Aldermen,  dated  May  24,  1909,  we  have  made  an  examination  of 
the  complaint  book  of  the  Bureau  of  Highways.  This  examination  may  be 


summarized  in  the  following  table: 

Total  complaints  made  by  citizens,  January  1  to  June  30,  1908.  ...  331 

Total  complaints  made  by  police,  January  1  to  June  30,  1908 .  334 

Total .  665 

Total  complaints  made  by  citizens  January  1  to  June  30,  1909.  . . .  385 

Total  complaints  made  by  police,  January  1  to  June  30,  1909 .  219 

Total .  604 


In  other  words,  the  number  of  complaints  from  January  1  to  June  30, 
1909,  is  61,  or  9.2  per  cent,  less  than  the  number  for  the  same  period  in  1908. 

This  hardly  bears  out  the  statement  made  by  President  Haffen  in  his 
letter  to  the  Board  of  Aldermen,  above  referred  to,  that  “  residents  along 
the  earth  and  macadam  roads  of  the  borough  *  *  *  are  clamoring  for 

relief.” 


27 


(e)  Those  streets  which  in  your  opinion  are  not  in  a  condition  of 
repair  equal  to  that  of  former  years. 

Since  the  filing  of  our  report  on  June  24  we  have  made  a  physical  ex¬ 
amination  of  85  of  the  147  streets  submitted  to  us  by  the  Borough  President 
under  this  heading.  The  results  of  this  examination  are  as  follows : 


Condition. 

Number. 

Percentage. 

Excellent . 

.  I3-92 

16.3% 

Good . 

.  49-75 

58.7% 

Fair . 

.  12.33 

H-5% 

Poor  . 

.  8.75 

10.2% 

Bad  . 

.  0.25 

0.3% 

85.00 

100.0% 

The  foregoing  is  further  illustrated  by  a  graphic  chart  hereto  attached 
and  marked  Table  VII. 

Bearing  upon  the  entire  subject  of  the  Borough  President’s  request  for 
an  issue  of  these  revenue  bonds,  we  beg  to  call  particular  attention  to  the 
graphic  chart  hereto  attached  and  marked  Table  VIII.  Figures  (a)  and 
(b)  on  this  chart  are  also  to  be  found  in  Table  V.  of  our  report  of  June  24 
and  are  here  reproduced  for  the  sake  of  comparison  with  figures  (c)  and 
(d).  Figure  (c),  as  given  in  Table  VIII.,  shows  the  possibility  of  using 
the  1909  appropriation  as  it  now  stands,  assuming  that  the  same  amounts 
will  be  expended  in  November  and  December,  1909,  as  were  expended  in 
November  and  December,  1908,  and  that  the  same  amounts  will  be  expended 
in  June,  July,  August,  September  and  October,  1909,  as  were  expended  in 
May,  1909.  This  latter  assumption,  it  will  be  seen,  is  most  liberal,  as  in 
past  years  the  expenditures  of  June,  July  and  September  have  seldom  if 
ever  been  as  high  as  the  expenditures  in  May.  This  assumption,  as  shown  in 
figure  (c)  would  leave  a  balance  of  $51,359.03  for  supplies  for  the  year 
1909. 

But  there  is  another  way  of  approach  to  this  question  of  supplies.  For 
the  first  five  months  of  both  years  the  average  ratio  of  payroll  expenditures 
(1908  to  1909)  is  1.988.  If  we  apply  this  ratio  to  the  months  of  November 
and  December,  1909,  we  find  that  the  payroll  of  November,  1909,  should 
amount  to  $25,000  instead  of  $49,554.18,  or  a  difference  of  $24,555.18;  and 


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29 


the  payroll  of  December,  1909  should  amount  to  $22,000  instead  of  $43,- 
269.73,  or  a  difference  of  $21,269.73.  The  sum  of  these  two  differences 
amounts  to  $45,823.91,  which,  added  to  the  amount  available  for  supplies  as 
indicated  in  figure  (c),  i.  e.,  $51,359.03,  would  mean  an  amount  of  $97,- 
187.94  which  could  be  expended  for  this  purpose.  In  other  words,  if  the 
same  ratio  of  expenditure  is  followed  for  the  last  two  months  of  1909  as 
was  followed  for  1908,  there  will  be  left  a  balance  of  $97,187.94  for  supplies, 
instead  of  $51,359.03. 

Figure  (d)  shows  the  1909  appropriation  as  indicated  in  figure  (c)  in¬ 
creased  by  the  amount  of  $220,000. 

Respectfully  submitted, 

John  Purroy  Mitchel, 

Henry  C.  Buncke, 

Commissioners  of  Accounts. 


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